our place
Heritage values of Titirangi landmark formally recognised Heritage New Zealand Pouhere New Zealand’s natural and cultural Taonga has added the former past. Hotel Titirangi (Lopdell House), In 1930, the five-storey Hotel Te Uru Gallery and the ‘Treasure Titirangi was added and promoted House’ to the New Zealand as an international-quality Heritage List Rārangi Kōrero as destination. Catering for an a Category 1 historic place – the anticipated upsurge in motorised highest category possible. tourism, this landmark building was This listing formally recognises designed by W. S. R. Bloomfield, the special heritage values of this probably the first person of Māori historic landmark and has been descent to train as a Western-style welcomed by Lopdell Trust, which architect. manages the complex and initially “The hotel’s Spanish Mission nominated it as an historic place. design and luxurious appointment “It has been a long journey for the The stairwell in the refurbished Lopdell House. Photo: Bevis England. reflected the influence of North Trust (and our Auckland Council partners) to rescue and refurbish Hotel American resorts and featured extensive views of the Manukau Titirangi/Lopdell House and to oversee the design and construction of Harbour and surrounding bush. Like many businesses at the time, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery,” says Trust member Jeff Wells. however, both the hotel and museum ventures struggled during the “The local and wider community has enthusiastically adopted the Depression in the 1930s,” says Martin. facilities offered and the western end of the village now has a new The complex housed the main state facility for educating deaf vibrancy. This listing should further spread the word on what the children in the North Island (from 1942) before becoming the country’s Lopdell Precinct is all about, and its importance for its landmark and first live-in teacher training facility in 1960. other visual design qualities.” An important community facility since the 1980s, the significance “Functioning as a major hub for the arts community in West Auckland of the precinct was enhanced by conservation of the pre-existing since 1986, it also has special value for the extent and depth of its structures and the addition of the modern Te Uru Gallery (2012-2014). community associations,” says Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Both projects were undertaken by Mitchell and Stout Architects, and Senior Heritage Assessment Advisor, Martin Jones. received National Awards from the New Zealand Institute of Architects “Incorporating the classically-influenced Treasure House – built as a in 2015. museum in 1926 – and the Spanish Mission-style Hotel Titirangi, built Further information about the history and significance of the area in 1930, the place is historically important for reasons that include its can be accessed at https://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/9823 associations with the development of tourism in early 20th century New Zealand, particularly Auckland’s Waitākere Ranges,” says Martin. Prior to European arrival, the area was home to Te Kawerau ā Maki and other peoples. “Although forests in the Waitākere Ranges were extensively felled by colonial timber businesses in the 1800s, moves to conserve New Zealand bush subsequently emerged as part of a wider appreciation of the country’s natural and cultural past,” Martin says. Following the creation of numerous scenic and other reserves in the area – some donated by wealthy engineer and local businessman Henry Atkinson (1838-1921) – Titirangi became a significant tourist destination on the fringes of Auckland. In 1926, visitor attractions increased with the construction of the Treasure House designed by architect Reginald B. Hammond – a small, single-storey museum, exhibiting a major kauri gum collection, Māori taonga and other artefacts collated by Dargaville jeweller Frank Peat, who had spent more than two decades collecting artefacts linked with
Linda Cooper Linda Cooper Linda Cooper
Councillor for Waitākere Councillor for Waitākere Councillor for Waitākere feel free to Please feelPlease free contact me with Please feel to free to contact me with contact me with issuesissues or ideas or ideas issues or ideas
021 629 533 021 629 021533 629 533 linda.cooper@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz linda.cooper@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz linda.cooper@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
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The Fringe MARCH 2021
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